Clark Kent (WIP)

It only takes a brief glance at Superman to understand why he's been called the Big Blue Boyscout, as he often seems to tower over those he faces, even those of greater height or girth. In many ways, his size and musculature seem only enhanced by his perfect posture, with his back straight, broad shoulders out wide and every muscle seemingly tensed to spring into action, with a physique that seems to be all but carved from granite. His expression often suits this ever-vigilant pose, as when he is in the public eye, he never looked bored, or unfocused, a perpetually stern and quietly confident expression on his face. One of his most immediately distinguishing qualities is the piercing blue shade of his eyes, a color that often seems almost inhuman, making eye contact with the Man of Steel particularly unsettling... especially if you're on his bad side.

The most relaxed Superman usually looks is when he has his arms crossed over his broad chest, and even then it only seems to call into prominence just how big those arms are; the crossed-armed position, after all, has often been something he's used to intimidate the occasional mugger into submission. The rest of the time, his arms will remain at his sides; never simply hanging, but instead rigidly held in place. The costume is cut to emphasize his size and physique, particularly his broad chest. The deep, slightly dark blue of the majority of his outfit only seems to enhance the bright red boots, 'briefs' and, of course, the flowing red cape hanging down to halfway between his knees and his ankles. The S-Shield on his chest is bright and bold, ensuring that it's the first thing anyone will see when he approaches; a similar, mostly-yellow symbol is on the back of his cape, and a yellow utility belt holds a handful of simple things, like spare change and a small phone.

Finally, his hair is slightly tousled, in an almost boyish fashion, often with a slight curl resting down his forehead. Right behind those eyes, the second most distinguishable quality about Superman is his voice; deep, but curiously soft, it can shift from strangely comforting one moment, to tersely threatening the next, with only the slightest shift in tone.

The bumbling, bespectacled Clark Kent actually appears to be a couple of inches shorter than his counterpart, his shoulders rounder and smaller than the Man of Steel's. This is due in large part to the Kryptonian's stellar muscular control, as a shift in the tension of his muscles, a slight slouch to his postures, and the slightest bent of his knees allows him to appear far smaller, without actually looking like he's trying to. Though he often dresses in a smart suit and tie, his clothing is often a little on the baggy side, just enough to make Kent look as rumpled and untidy as he often acts; another shift in posture even gives him a bit of a paunch. Nothing severe, but the sort of thing you'd expect from a man who perhaps doesn't quite watch what he eats, and doesn't hit the gym.

His hands will often be in his suit jacket pockets when not occupied with something, and he is a fidget-er by nature, never seeming to keep one posture maintained for long, unless he's distracted by an interview or writing an article. His hair is slicked back from his brow and extremely thick glasses adorn his face, muting the bright, alien blue of his eyes until their color is watery and unremarkable. When he speaks, his voice emerges in a slightly timid, tenor pitch, a sharp contrast to the deep, reassuring bass of Superman's own voice. He smiles often, though he's usually shy and it's followed by a blush or a glance away, and he rarely looks angry or threatening; more often, he'll just look nervous if threatened or insulted.

The real Clark Kent's appearance is one rarely seen; more often than not, it's on his family's farm, or in the privacy of his apartment in the evening. Making no effort to either enhance or conceal his size and musculature, he lacks the imposing presence of Superman, but still looks about as formidable as you'd expect a large, strong-looking chap to look. Without the glasses, his bright blues shine forth, and his hair is often a bit closer to Superman's, though if he has recently been getting around as his bespectacled alter ego, it will still be slicked back. His clothing is casual, comfortable; usually a pair of sweatpants or jeans and a t-shirt that fits him well, but not tightly enough to really emphasize his physique. He is also far more relaxed in terms of his expressions, smiling or laughing far more easily. He also often sports an expression all but void from the face of either the glasses-wearing Kent, or Superman; one of minor mischief.

---

Superman is, in many ways, a deliberately larger than life figure, which is an obvious enough conclusion given his bright colors and bold costume. But his state of dress isn't solely what makes him so; in many ways, he simply tries to be what the rest of the world hopes from him, a man of boundless confidence and quiet assurance who seems to improve any given situation, and the morale of those involved, just by arriving on the scene. He rarely raises his voice, as he rarely needs to, and even when dealing with a mortal enemy he almost never seems driven to true rage, in no small part because he remains in perpetual control of his own strength. Rather, the more dire a situation turns, the more determined Superman becomes, facing down whatever challenge faces him with little more than narrowed eyes and a set jaw; when he grows irritated, aggressive, or even a little angry, his words will become clipped, sharp, and though he doesn't strain to yell, his voice will seem just a bit... louder. He has often been named an inspiring figure for that very reason, as he never gives up and never backs down from a conflict, even when his own life is clearly in mortal jeopardy.

Even more important, however, is that he doesn't limit himself to massive disasters or ultra-powered villainry, though God only knows those threats have kept him plenty busy. But he'll just as soon stop apartment fires, muggings, find lost hikers and other 'mundane' deeds that have above all else endeared him to Metropolis' citizens, and although he has traveled to other cities, or even countries, to deal with large-scale threats, he seems to prefer keeping the bulk of his activity confined to Metropolis.

These qualities carry over to his interactions with fellow heroes, particularly those less experienced or confident than himself; rather than try and order around newer heroes, or mould them to his image, he'll only offer advice and support when it's needed. When operating with quieter heroes, he'll listen more than speak, inviting those with less standing to present their views, but always making sure he's made his own side perfectly clear. He's even held meetings in informal settings, such as on a rooftop in a given city, or near the site of some just-averted disaster, seeming to prefer it to more aloof or private settings.

Even though he could conceivably annihilate half of what he faces with a blast of heat vision, Superman is always one to offer quarter whenever possible, informing his newest opponent that they can still turn themselves in without any more violence. Often, this is less for his own sake than for the sake of whomever he's about to knock halfway across the city. The fact that many criminals, especially common thugs with guns, seem to ignore this invitation of quarter and try to kill him anyway seems to be a source of both amusement, and mild frustration to him. Still, even as bullets are bouncing off his chest, he'll dispatch regular humans as gently as possible; sometimes simply knocking them unconscious with a tap to the head, other times confiscating their weapon and crushing it to scrap metal.

The glasses-wearing Kent, on the other hand, is decidedly un-Superman in almost every way but his general goodwill towards humanity. Largely uncoordinated and more than a little meek, it is rare you'll see this tall, formally dressed young man making eye contact with you, or offering anything more than a nervous little laugh. The list of physical quirks and fidgits is almost endless, as while Superman can stand without moving an iota for an hour if need be, Clark seems to need to move at all times; he shuffles his feet, adjusts his glasses, glances around, scratches his nose, on and on and on. He would lose any given staring contest in a matter of moments, and when facing someone who is aggressive or even bold in personality, he will often stammer and try to disengage from awkward situations. He is decidedly kind-hearted, however, and often that earnest, gee-whiz honesty is what draws others to him; most of the people he knows might pity him a little, but they still like him plenty.

Behind those two different personas, the real Clark Kent is a bit of a mix between; while hardly as bumbling or awkward as his alter-ego, nor is he quite as self-assured or confident as he presents himself. He will often speak of whatever troubles him to his closest friends and allies, as much to work out his problems for himself as to hear their own opinion on the issue, and though Superman will never show it, his uncertainties might plague him for days before they're finally put to rest. He's bolder and more coordinated than Clark Kent, but quicker to smile and laugh than Superman; at the same time, his powers, and the responsibilities he has placed upon himself, leave him more than a little lonely, something he tried to hide. This Clark is one rarely seen, and for the most part, only his mother will see this side of him. This is the Clark Kent that wakes up in the morning, pours a bowl of cereal, watches the morning news and takes a shower before taking to the skies.

While hardly the Clark he presents to the rest of the world, the real man behind the glasses, and behind the symbol, is far more human than Superman will ever be.

---

First of all, Superman's many abilities are granted to him by his Kryptonian physiology, but there is a catalytic element required to make them function; while his body, and his cells, are far different than that of a normal human, they alone do not grant him any superhuman abilities. Under normal circumstances, unpowered, his physical abilities match those of a human his size and weight who exercises regularly, as he doesn't even possess any enhanced senses. His powers only manifest once his body absorbs, metabolizes and stores yellow sunlight, which begin to charge his cells, and cause dormant organs and parts of his brain to become active. Acting as a sort of battery, his body can store a considerable amount of solar energy, allowing him to continue using his powers even when he is not being exposed to sunlight, as long as his energy reserves hold out.

When fully charged, his abilities function at their peak even after significant exertion; pushing himself too hard, for too long, will sap his reserves, and gradually cause his abilities to fade, though as long as he exposed to sunlight, they will rarely vanish completely. While his body absorbs sunlight at a decent rate when down on the Earth's surface, the rate of absorption increases the higher up he is, and the closer to the Sun he gets. While yellow sunlight is optimal, other wavelengths can function, though with different effects; light from a blue sun, for example, supercharges his powers, to the point of where even he has difficulty adequately controlling them.

Super-Strength: First, his strength; when his cells are fully charged, Superman is capable of unimaginable feats of strength, lifting weights far in excess to his own, and striking with titanic force. His musculature doesn't seem to produce fatigue toxins, and as long as he can keep his cells charged with yellow sunlight, and doesn't burn through his reserve energy too quickly, he seems to have almost unlimited physical stamina. For the most part, however, the bulk of his strength is restrained by a series of self-imposed mental barriers, intended to keep himself from accidentally breaking something in his day-to-day life, or striking an enemy hard enough to kill them. Only when facing either a monumental physical task, or a particularly powerful enemy, will he relax some or all of these barriers, unleashing his full strength. However, unleashing his strength does sap his energy reserves, even when he's being exposed to yellow sunlight at the time.

Invulnerability: His resilience is greatly increased by a bioelectric forcefield that surrounds his body at near-skintight proximity, shielding him from harm and contributing to his superhuman strength. This field also protects his clothing to a certain extent, depending on his close to his body they are; it's at least part of the reason his costume is so tight, and also means that when in battle his cape is one of the first things to go. He can extend this field subconsciously, to a much lesser extent; while it won't make anyone he touches invulnerable to any real degree, it does allow him to intercept or catch civilians at high speeds without accidentally killing them, or shield them from the heat and pressure of an explosion with his body. While at full strength, the field makes him all but invulnerable, each superhuman blow, energy blast or assault he suffers hacks at his energy reserves, draining them as they replenish the field. If his reserves begin to drain to a serious degree, the field will attenuate and weaken, sapping his resilience and strength and leaving him increasingly vulnerable.

Partial Self-Sustenance, Disease And Toxin Immunity: As long as his body is charged by sunlight, Superman's physical needs seem to be greatly reduced, allowing him to subsist on far less food, water and rest than a normal human. Three hours or so a night is, for him, considered a luxurious amount of rest, and he can go a week or more without sleep at all before being seriously impaired by mental fatigue. In addition, he seems effectively immune to most human-based toxins, diseases and other health complications, whether it's the common cold or a massive dose of arsenic. If not charged by sunlight, however, his body has the same needs as a human, and he becomes far more vulnerable to disease and poisons.

Accelerated Healing: Even if injured, Superman has the ability to rapidly heal from injuries, though the rate depends on his reserves; at peak strength, even serious wounds- say, a stab from a magical blade, or Kryptonite shard- can heal within moments, (although if Kryptonite is the cause, he will need to get clear of any exposure before the healing can begin.) If his reserves are drained, however, wounds can take hours to heal, though the time is reduced a little if he exposes himself to sunlight.

Superhuman Speed: When fully charged, Superman is capable of moving, thinking and reacting at superhuman speeds; though not on the same level as the Flash and comparable speedsters, he can still move quickly enough to catch or deflect bullets, fight at superhuman speeds, and cross vast distances on foot in seconds. Unlike the Flash, though, he is not fast enough to run on water, and cannot perform other speed-related tricks, such as vibrating his molecules to pass through solid objects, pump his legs fast enough to 'climb' a compressed cushion or air, or counteract tornados by running around them.

Flight: Despite his superhuman footspeed, he much prefers to get around via flight, a process that allows him to literally defy gravity, deftly maneuvering with inhuman precision. He can fly at supersonic speeds in the atmosphere, but doesn't push himself too much faster when any lower than the Mesosphere as it risks igniting the atmosphere in his wake. If he needs to make a cross-continental trip, he will often ascend to suborbital heights. In the rare event he leaves the atmosphere, he can fly even faster, traveling to the Moon in a matter of minutes. His ability to fly also ties into his strength, allowing him to heft vast weights into the air, although the more he carries, the slower he is forced to fly.

High Lung Capacity, Super Breath And Freezing Breath: His lungs can draw in a tremendous amount of air, compressing it and allowing him to survive underwater for many hours at a time with a single breath, even in the vacuum of space. He can also dispel the drawn air with tremendous force, enough to smother an apartment fire with a single gust or clear a vast cloud of gas. More unusually, he can compress the stored air even further, and expel is as a chilled breath so cold that it can freeze whatever's in its path.

Enhanced Vision: His eyes are capable of a variety of visual spectrums, achieved through active concentration, such as X-Ray, electromagnetic, telescopic, and even microscopic, allowing him to see the smallest of details, or the most distant of threats. He has often combined these visual fields, using his telescopic and X-Ray vision to study a scene blocked by half of Metropolis.

Enhanced Hearing: His vision is dwarfed only by his incredible sense of hearing, a trait that has allowed the Man of Steel to seem almost omnipresent throughout his city; capable of both focusing on specific details and absorbing the full, chaotic medley of sounds, his hearing extends for many miles, and at frequencies below and above the human range of hearing. He can not only hear a scream for help from a hundred miles away, but he can also pinpoint where it's coming from.

Heat Vision: Finally, his heat vision is probably the most offense-oriented power he has; capable of adjusting the intensity and the concentration of it, he can release anything from a pin-thin laser capable of slicing through steel, to a wide-yield blast that melts wide swaths of ice, to a nearly invisible 'puff' that would just barely boil water. By far, however, it is the most draining of his powers; if he uses a wide-wield blast powerful enough to melt steel, it will very quickly sap his reserve energy, which is why he usually chooses to concentrate it into pencil-thin beams of heat.

---

Nothing in particular at the moment.

---

Kryptonite: First and foremost is his weakness to Kryptonite; a green, crystalline mineral, the radioactive remnants of his home planet, exposure is highly toxic to Kryptonians. Within moments of exposure, any Kryptonian will begin to feel dizzy, light-headed, and find their powers fading. Speed, flight and heat vision will be the first to go, eventually followed by strength and resilience. It takes about five or six minutes of steady exposure, or fifteen minutes of sporadic exposure, to reduce a Kryptonian to a semi-conscious state. In addition, Kryptonite seems to be able to pass through their bioelectric field even if they've only been exposed for a few seconds, meaning that being struck with a blunt Kryptonite-plated object will bruise them, and a shard of it can slice or pierce their flesh easily. The bright side is that if he can escape exposure, his coordination and powers will return quickly, as Kryptonite only seems to suppress a Kryptonian's powers, and doesn't drain their energy reserves. However, if a shard is left inside a Kryptonian's body, depending on the size, it will continue to suppress their powers to some extent and, if not removed, eventually kill them.

As another note, although it has been mentioned that his immune system leaves him impervious to human toxins and diseases, a suitably enterprising individual can lace such compounds with infinitesimal specks of Kryptonite to bypass his resilience. While such tiny amounts of the rock will have no effect on his powers, and not endanger his life, it will allow whatever the compound is- be it a virus, Poison Ivy's pheromone spores, etc- to affect him just as they would a normal human.

Red Sunlight: The unique radiation signature of a red sun has the opposite effect of a yellow sun; it drains his energy reserves, sapping his cells of the charge that gives him his powers. Though it occurs far more gradually than Kryptonite, a few hours of regular exposure to a red sun will eventually sap him of all his superhuman abilities, leaving him with the same physical attributes as a human. Weapons designed to fire concentrated energy bursts on the same wavelength, though not able to hurt him, will also chip away at his reserves, weakening his powers. There are some differences between exposure to a red sun, and exposure to Kryptonite; unlike Kryptonite, red sunlight will not render him ill, or put his life in danger; simply weaken, and eventually neutralize, his superhuman abilities. Once his powers have been drained, they will not return even if he escapes exposure to a red sun; the only way he can recover them is to expose himself to yellow sunlight again. Recovering his base abilities- flight, strength, resilience, etc- can take hours if he's been completely drained, and recharging those abilities to full strength can take days, but the process can be accelerated if he uses high-intensity solar lamps.

Magic And Psionics: His bioelectric field is relatively vulnerable against purely magical and psychic intrusions. However, his heightened cellular density when his body is charged by sunlight does seem to at least prevent magical assaults from destroying him as easily as a human; in other words, while he is far more vulnerable to a magical fireball than a conventional one, it still won't vaporize him nearly as easily as it would a regular person. Again, this extends to a purely magical attack, as simply a 'magical origin' will not suffice; for example, Black Adam's super-strong punches will not hurt him as more extensively than a normal opponent of equivalent strength, but his magic-based electrical assaults will be much more effective than an equivalent-strength assault from conventional electricity. Weapons that are purely magical in composition, similarly, will prove much more effective against the Man of Steel.

And although he has no superhuman resilience to psychics, he does have tremendous willpower, which can sometimes help him resist such intrusion, or trick a mindreader by accelerating his thoughts until they're a chaotic blur.

Other Kryptonians: Because the bioelectric field that protects him can be cancelled out by the field of another Kryptonian, his own kinsmen are more capable of harming him than someone of equivalent strength. It works both ways, of course, as Superman can similarly inflict more harm on another Kryptonian.

Energy Reserves: Finally, his abilities decline when he's forced to push himself for long periods of time; not only active abilities, like heat vision, are affected, as even his strength and resilience can decline. In a few instances, 'mastermind' villains who can't match his raw power have instead run him through a gauntlet of disasters and threats to the city until the constant exertion has weakened him sufficiently to face in a more direct confrontation. This fatigue can be alleviated temporarily through more direct exposure to sunlight, and Superman has at times moved to the Earth's upper orbit, out of the shielding effects of the atmosphere, to 'recharge' when the opportunity presents itself. His devotion to protecting the city, however, will often cause him to throw himself into combat even when his reserves are dangerously low.

---

Sent to Earth as an infant by his parents so that he might survive the cataclysmic disaster that claimed the planet Krypton, the baby Kal-El's ship crashed in a cornfield in Smallville, Kansas. Fortunately for him, a kindly couple by the name of Jonathan and Martha Kent had been passing through the area, and saw the pillar of fire, coming upon the site of the crash just as the pod was opening, revealing its small occupant. Though the circumstances of the child's discovery were unusual enough, (spaceship and such,) the child himself seemed no different than a human boy, with a happy little burbling laugh, and nothing to suggest he came from another world. Even the craft, the Kents thought, might have been some form of experimental government ship... though they couldn't even begin to guess why a child was being transported in it.

Either way, Martha was barren and, craving a child of their own, the Kents chose to adopt this strange newcomer in secret, at least until they found his parents, or someone came into town seeking him. Of course, nobody ever did, and fortunately for the Kents, the infant's ship had crashed close enough to the Kent farm for Jonathan to transport it to the barn before it was discovered. Sticking it in the storage basement and sealing the trapdoor, they vowed not to share this discovery with anyone... including, perhaps, their son.

Naming him Clark, the child's development seemed normal enough, as the youth had boundless energy and a bright, cheery spirit. The Kents began to hope that, perhaps, the bizarre circumstances of the child's arrival in their life would be a mystery that would not rise to haunt them again... but those hopes proved unfounded, as the child's development grew... unusual. At the age of eight, Clark was trampled beneath an angry bull, only to emerge without a scratch or bruise. At nine, he went in search of his baseball beneath his father's tractor... almost tipping it over in the process as he pushed on its side. A game of tag with his father a few months later resulted in Clark speeding away in a blur, crossing the field in seconds.

These abilities appeared sporadically at first, coming and going, always leaving a trail of broken furniture, possessions, and (once) an entire barn door. It wasn't until the onset of puberty that his strength, speed and resilience came to stay; he ended up actually having to call in sick from school for three weeks, as his father was concerned that his growing strength would cause Clark to make a mistake, reveal his powers or, worse, hurt someone. The solution? Chores. So many chores, from completely replacing the farm's fence posts to tilling the fields to shifting hay bundles that weighed over a hundred pounds each... all of it by hand. The physical labor- backbreaking to a human, but scarcely a warm-up to a Kryptonian who grew stronger every day- the physical labor allowed Clark to come to terms with his raw, physical power... in those three weeks, he developed the first, and most rudimentary, of the mental barriers that would help him restrain his superhuman abilities. By the time he went back to school, he was back in control... though fearful enough of his strength to become very anti-social.

As he grew older, things grew even stranger, as new abilities developed. At the age of fifteen, his vision and hearing seemed to go haywire; at times, he awoke hearing the entire town, the cacophony of sounds leaving him in agony. His vision flickered chaotically, seeing through solid walls, viewing things down to the molecular level, focusing on minute details miles and miles away. Once again, he had to call in 'sick,' this time for a month; since chores weren't going to help, he spent much of his time in his room, curled up and trembling, as he tried to control his inhuman senses.

Those same senses, however, caused him to peer through the ground, and the barn's trapdoor, spotting the ship hidden within; when he confronted his parents, they admitted to him the circumstances by which they'd found him, and took him down to see the ship. There wasn't much... the vessel seemed to be non-functional, and the only contents in the pod were a red, blue and yellow blanket emblazoned with some form of crest, and a curious crystal. The revelation that he'd been found in some sort of vessel- coupled with his incredible powers- led to Clark questioning whether he was truly even human. Instead of giving him answers, the revelation seemed only to leave him with more questions, questions he didn't even know how to begin dealing with. Left with little other option, he decided to try and return to living a normal life.

Unfortunately, life didn't seem inclined to oblige. At seventeen, he developed superhuman lung capacity (a cloud of dust drawing a sneeze from him that literally sent the family tractor flipping, end over end, twenty feet.) Though initially irritating, it was relatively easy to control, and actually became invaluable when the heat vision kicked in three months later. Fortunately for him, by the time his eyes were uncontrollably spitting scorching heat, it was the summertime, and he had no school to worry about. Still, the first 'incident' sent a quarter of one of the farm's grazing fields on fire, and it was only his superhuman breath that kept it from spreading. It took him a bit less than a month to control it outright but, fortunately, the simply caution of closing his eyes when he felt another 'incident' building dispelled much of the heat, and kept him from incinerating anyone, or anything, else.

By the time he was nineteen, his last power manifested; waking up one morning to find himself hovering fifty feet in the air, halfway across his farm's fields. It took him another six months to learn how to control it, (and until he did, he started sleeping with a string tied around his toe, hooked to a very loud bell on by bedside.)

After having graduated high school, Clark began to attend University, but the day-to-day doldrums of classes somehow didn't fulfill the young man. After a couple of years into the program, he dropped out, and approached his parents about the crux of his problem; with his many abilities, and the power that came from them, he felt as if the direction his life had taken was one designed to ignore, even suppress, who he truly was. The fact that he didn't even know, for certain, where he had come from made it all the worse, and although his parents were initially concerned, they accepted and supported his desire to expand his horizons, and learn more about the world beyond the borders of Kansas.

It was then that Clark decided to, at the very least, see a bit more of the world before settling down for a 'normal life.' Armed only with his powers, a bit of money from his parents, and the strange crystal from his ship, he took a plane to Europe to begin his journey of self-discovery. After that flight, of course, it wasn't long before he ceased bothering with normal means of transportation, relying on his own speed and flight to cross countries as he began to circle one continent after another, spending weeks or months in one place to learn of its culture and speak with its occupants. During that time, he would support his relatively simple needs- mostly food and water, as not even shelter was a high priority for someone who could catch a quick nap in a tree, or on top of an unclimbable cliff- by doing various odd jobs and physical labor for modest sums of money.

Although Clark remained very careful not to reveal his true nature, or his power, his own conscience caused him to occasionally intervene in worldly affairs. Whether it was helping save a village from bandits in South Africa, or extinguishing a temple fire in Tibet, even these brief acts of heroics were done in secret, often using his great speed to ensure nobody even knew a single individual had been involved at all. As the months turned into nearly four full years, Clark Kent learned a great deal about the wider world, and about humanity, even as the practical experience gave him even more opportunities to test and practice his abilities, particularly his flight. To supplement the income he made as a day laborer, he occasionally needed some money, and he began to earn it by writing freelance articles detailing the events he had come across- while leaving his own involvement out of it- and sending it to various American news outlets oversee for a small fee. Of them all, the Daily Planet seemed the most interested in his stories, and he began selling to them exclusively, forming the basis of a partnership that would bring unexpected benefits later on.

Without even realizing it, however, his journey had drawn him inexorably towards one of the planet's poles. By the time Clark was twenty four, he found himself wandering the frozen glaciers of the Arctic, driven by a purpose he didn't quite understand. This purpose was revealed when the crystal he carried finally began to glow in his backpack, generating a heat he could feel even through the satchel; gripped by some strange compulsion, Clark hurled the crystal with all his considerable strength, sending it far into the Arctic Circle, where it quickly vanished beneath the ice and snow. Within moments, however, that catalyst gave birth to a tremendous creation, as before Clark's eyes a great structure composed of crystal spires sprouted from beneath the water, rising to full splendor amidst the glaciers; his Fortress of Solitude, the last piece of Krypton that once was.

In the Fortress, he met his other father, the one who had sent him to Earth, and it was from him that Clark learned his origins, his Kryptonian name, and the purpose that Jor-El had envisioned for him. He realized that he wasn't meant to lurk in the shadows and perform good deeds in secret; he was meant to inspire, not only the normal citizens of the planet, but other heroes who were at the time only gradually rising to the surface. He spent a couple of months speaking with the projection of his father, asking so many questions, and learning so much of what would become his second home. But eventually, he realized that he had to venture outwards again... he left the Arctic and, under the power of his own flight, returned to Kansas, Smallville, and home.

This was a return made in secret, and as the farm was three miles from the nearest neighbor, it was a secret easily kept. His parents, obviously overjoyed by their son's return, found themselves initially... hesitant... when he explained to her what he had in mind. The idea of their son showing the extent of his abilities to the wider world tapped into the fears they had had all those years he'd grown up trying to cope with them. Jonathan especially initially pleaded with him to wear a mask, some means to conceal his face, but Clark turned the notion down, concerned that a mask would make the public less inclined to trust him, and their trust was something he needed above all else.

Eventually, his mother warmed to the idea, dragging her still-reluctant father in her wake, and made Clark a costume, patterned after the vivid, primary colors and the crest that had been on the blanket in his spacecraft. Though it was colorful, almost garish, it suited Clark's goals to be seen not as a dark, untrustworthy figure. With the costume complete- and a few spares kept at the farm, just in case- Clark had to decide on where he would operate from. After all, Kansas wasn't exactly the hive of villainy. He initially considered Gotham, but finally decided on Metropolis, in no small part because his experiences abroad had led to him developing an interest in pursuing a career in journalism... without a degree in Journalism, breaking into that field would have been very difficult, but he hoped that the freelance pieces he'd supplied the Planet would help get his foot in the door.

So he traveled to Metropolis, but not as Clark Kent... not at first. As far as any records indicated, after all, Clark Kent was still somewhere overseas, and he realized that if he was registered as returning to the United States at the same time as his costumed alter-ego made his debut, it would draw far too much attention. Particularly if he planned to work in a building full of reporters. So, for two and a half months, he treated it as a form of commute. First spotted catching a car that had careened off a highway bend, and then putting out an apartment fire a day later, he began to gradually build up to protecting the city's citizens. Muggers, road rage or drunk drivers, and other small crimes throughout the city found themselves thwarted by a mysterious, flying man who would swoop in, settle the situation, and then hurtle back into the air. He never remained long enough to answer questions, and it wasn't long before the media was abuzz, filled with speculation as to the identity, and the intent, of this mysterious caped man.

During his 'off-hours,' he would steal a few hours of sleep in a field, or a forest outside of Metropolis, far from human occupation. Dressed in simple street clothes, wearing a cap and hunching over to minimize his body, he would pop into a town just long enough to pick up some food and water before moving on. Weekends would be spent back in Kansas, where he and his mother works on designing the second part of his disguise; the Clark Kent that he would begin presenting to the rest of the world.

After a couple of months, he still hadn't stuck around long enough for anyone to learn... much of anything. There were names circling to describe him, from hero to vigilante, to menace. But one reporter, Lois Lane, coined a name that he actually sort of liked; 'Superman.' Granted, the article she used it in tore him a new one for his secrecy, but the game was starting to catch on with the rest of the media, albeit gradually.

In the meantime, Clark decided it was time. After putting out a massive chemical plant fire, he flew to North Africa, changed into his street clothes and, armed with the passport he'd used when he left the farm nearly five years ago, he returned to the United States, in an airplane this time. Arriving with the bumbling, fumbling Clark Kent persona in full swing, he moved into a modest apartment in New Troy, and prepared to apply for employment at the Daily Planet...

---

Here's where you wow us; you can roleplay either side of your character's 'secret identity,' and either write a brief story snippet with the character, or act as if you were opening a thread. Indeed, you can use your sample post FOR your first thread, if you're accepted.

---